You Stayed
by BMWWfreak
Summary: The Doctor tells Rose how much he really does appreciate her. Ten/Rose. I wrote this for a friend :


**Enjoy!**

**Ten/Rose  
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><p><strong>_—You Stayed—_<strong>

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><p>Rose woke up but didn't open her eyes, instead deciding to stretch and yawn first.<p>

When she _did_ open her eyes, she gasped loudly.

"Good morning!" the Doctor said, standing beside her bed, leaning over her.

She held her chest and willed her heart to slow down.

"Why—"

"It's your birthday," he replied, as if it was obvious.

Was it really? Wow. She didn't even remember her own birthday in this time machine.

"Oh...um, well..." she stammered.

"No need to thank me," he said, grinning.

He pushed the blankets off of her and pulled her out of bed. He told her to stay in her pajamas and come to the kitchen.

She was a little embarrassed to say the least; she had her pajamas on—which consisted of striped shorts and a sleeveless pink shirt—her hair was a complete tangled mess, she had no makeup on, and she was sure she had bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Sure, she had slept well the previous night. But still, in a time machine, you just can't seem to get enough sleep.

He walked ahead of her and got to the kitchen first. She walked in behind him and smiled.

The table, which had two chairs on each side and was sitting to the left of the actual kitchen, was piled with a plate of bacon, a plate of eggs, pancakes, bagels, biscuits, gravy, orange juice, milk, and various other items that looked delicious. Two baby-blue colored plates were in front of each chair, with forks, knives and spoons next to them, and the plates sat on a light yellow place-mats. The centerpiece for the table was—of course—a bouquet of roses.

"Doctor..." she said, stepping closer to the scene. It could have been straight out of movie.

The Doctor was smiling smugly next to the counter.

"You did all this?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied simply. He pulled the chair on the left out for her, and she sat. He sat on the opposite side, and pushed the vase full of roses over, in order to see her clearly.

"This doesn't seem like something you'd do," she commented, loading her plate with pancakes.

"Why not?"

"It seems a bit domestic for a time traveling alien."

He shrugged. "Its the least I could do."

She chuckled. "You act like I did you a favor."

"You did," he said, looking up from his plate.

She stopped stuffing her face and looked at him, swallowing her food and taking a sip of orange juice.

"And what might that be?" she asked, almost jokingly.

"Well, for starters, you stayed," he said.

"How to do mean?"

She was curious now, mostly because there was something in his eyes—something different. Not anything scary, but just the opposite. Something sweet, and kind.

"I mean when I regenerated. When I changed completely, into a totally different person, you didn't run away. You stuck with me."

She lowered her head to hide the redness in her cheeks. She toyed with her spoon uselessly.

"Not a lot of people would do that. But you stayed."

"I'm sure I'm not the only who's stayed," she said, but something in his face told her differently.

"Rose," he started, hesitating a bit, "I've traveled with a lot of people in my time. But I've never met anyone like you."

She was even more red in the face now. He was being so open with her, and he had never done that before. She was shocked, but flattered all the same.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He nodded, grinning again.

When they finished their breakfast, he led her back into her room. She saw a small wrapped box on her bed, and wondered how it got there. But if there was one thing she has learned while traveling on the TARDIS, it was that asking questions only made her more confused.

She didn't waste any time on opening it, nor was she trying to save the wrapping paper.

She opened the small box and found a small, flat, heart-shaped pendant on a long thin chain. The pendant itself felt and looked like metal, and had an extremely soft surface. Tiny diamond like stones were placed side-by-side on the edge of the heart, outlining it. Upon closer examination, she saw something engraved in the middle of the pendant. It wasn't a language she had ever seen before. It was more like a symbol.

"What does the symbol mean?" she asked, holding the necklace carefully in her hands.

"Its Gallifreyan, my home planet's language. It means 'forever'." he replied.

"Oh," she said.

"I had that engraved on it because you said you were going to stay with me—"

"Forever," she finished, glancing at him. "Its beautiful, Doctor. Are these real diamonds?"

"Yes."

She gasped a little. She'd never had real diamonds before.

"I had it made with those because the diamond is the month of April's birthstone. Since you were born in April, I saw it as only appropriate."

"Yeah," she said, still staring at the diamonds.

He took the necklace and started to put it on her. She pulled her hair away to make it easier for him. He made sure it was on, and then he placed her hair back on her shoulders.

"Doctor," she said, turning to face him, "I don't know how to thank you."

"You already have."

"How? I mean, I didn't buy you anything as wonderfully extraordinary as this." She touched the necklace. Her necklace.

"You said you're going to stay with me forever. That's all the repayment I want."

She hugged him.

While squeezing his torso, she said,

"And I meant it. I'm never going to leave."


End file.
